Chapter 243: Anomaly

Chapter 243

Back inside the spacious office of the Vice Bureau Chief, the man himself sat comfortably behind his dark mahogany desk, leaning comfortably back in his leather chair as he sipped slowly from a small porcelain cup filled with his favorite rare tea from japan.

Scattered across the desk in front of him were several thick folders and documents, where each one was stamped with various classification markings, while his dark brown eyes skimmed methodically over the pages of what appeared to be an important report.

The late hour hadn’t dampened his focus in the slightest, though as he reached the end of yet another dense paragraph, he paused and couldn’t help setting the teacup down with a soft clink against its saucer before rubbing at his temple with two fingers as a heavy sigh escaped out of his lips.

Years upon years of experience running this Bureau had taught him to recognize when something didn’t quite add up, and tonight’s report was proving to be one of those nagging cases that refused to leave his mind alone.

He turned his gaze away from the paperwork, and swiveled slightly in his chair to look out through the floor-to-ceiling window behind his desk, out toward the dark, star-scattered skies stretching endlessly above the coastal facility.

From here the lights in the island twinkled faintly in the distance, and for a long moment, he simply sat there in silence, before turning the details of the mission report over and over in his mind like a puzzle missing a very crucial piece.

Soon enough, a soft knock echoed against the doors before they swung open and Sylph walked inside with her usual composed and confident gait.

"You called for me, Vice Bureau Chief," she said, her tone still carrying that same professional formality she usually reserved for official Bureau matters, and offered a polite nod of acknowledgment as she came to a sudden stop at a respectful distance from his desk.

The Vice Bureau Chief couldn’t help letting out an amused hum, before he proceeded to set aside the folder in his hands entirely as he gestured for her to relax.

"There’s really no need to be so formal with me, you know, especially when you happen to be my grand-niece," he said, as a small fond smile tugged at the corner of his otherwise stern lips.

Sylph’s own lips curved into a small and teasing smile at that, and then her earlier formality slipped away almost instantly.

"Grand-uncle, weren’t you the one who always insisted I address you by your proper title whenever we’re here in the office?" she countered smoothly. "I’m simply following your own orders, that’s all."

The older man let out a genuine chuckle at that, shaking his head slowly as he regarded her with a mixture of exasperation and affection.

"You cheeky little brat," he muttered, though there was no real bite behind the words. "Teasing your own grand-uncle like that, honestly. I swear, you kids today will be the death of me one of these days."

Sylph rolled her eyes at his dramatics, before crossing her arms loosely over her ample chest as she finally allowed herself to relax.

"So, why exactly did you call me in here so suddenly?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. "Please tell me this isn’t about assigning another mission already. Because we only just got back a few hours ago."

The Vice Bureau Chief waved a dismissive hand, shaking his head.

"No, no, nothing like that, don’t worry," he reassured her, before his expression shifted into something more serious. "This is actually another matter entirely. It’s actually regarding the mission your squad completed earlier today. I know you’ve already submitted your official report on how everything went, but there’s something in particular I wanted to personally confirm with you directly."

Sylph’s brows rose slightly with curiosity, though she nodded for him to continue.

"Are you absolutely certain," he continued slowly, leaning forward slightly with his elbows resting against the desk, "that your young Assistant Squad Leader really did use an entirely different ability from the one he’d previously displayed before?"

Sylph considered the question for only a brief moment before answering coolly, without any hesitation.

"Yes, I’m certain. I saw it with my own eyes. He used some kind of teleportation ability, quite a few times actually, both in combat and to safely evacuate the survivors from the cavern." She paused, studying her grand-uncle’s expression curiously. "Why do you ask? Is something wrong?"

The older man offered her a faint, reassuring smile, waving off her concern casually. "No, nothing’s wrong, don’t worry about it. I was simply curious, that’s all, just wanted to confirm a small detail for my own records."

Smoothly, he manages to shift the conversation onto a different, more lighter topic entirely, and instead asked about how she was holding up personally after such a grueling mission, whether she’d gotten enough rest, and various other mundane pleasantries that had nothing to do with Alex at all.

Sylph, apparently satisfied with his explanation, or perhaps because she was simply too exhausted to press the matter further, allowed the conversation to drift naturally before eventually excusing herself not long after.

She offered a respectful nod before turning and making her way back out through the doors, leaving the Vice Bureau Chief alone once more in the quiet solitude of his office.

The moment the doors clicked shut behind her, the older man’s expression shifted instantly, from the warm, grandfatherly affection to something that looked far more calculating and sharp.

He leaned back in his chair once more, steepling his fingers together thoughtfully as his gaze drifted back toward the dark window.

"So," he murmured quietly to himself, with his voice barely above a whisper in the empty room, "this Alex Walker kid actually possesses three separate abilities, does he? Interesting, very interesting indeed."

He recalled the earlier reports Phil had personally submitted to him regarding the young man, talking about a special ice-type of ability, along with what appeared to be an exceptionally rare healing ability, two abilities that, on their own, were already remarkable enough for someone so young.

And now, according to his grandniece firsthand account from tonight’s mission, it seemed the boy also possessed some form of teleportation ability as well, a third distinct power entirely separate from the other two.

And yet, despite all of that, despite wielding not one, not two, but three completely different abilities, the boy did not have even the faintest trace of any primordial essence, during his first time visit at the Bureau. He’d personally witnessed it himself, sitting right there in this very office, staring directly at the young man and sensing nothing whatsoever, as if this kid were nothing more than an ordinary, unawakened civilian.

The Vice Bureau Chief’s fingers tapped slowly against the surface of his desk as he mulled over the implications carefully in his mind.

A person possessing multiple abilities was already an incredibly rare phenomenon on its own. But a person wielding three separate abilities, all while displaying absolutely no primordial essence whatsoever, something that should have been, by every known law governing Awakened individuals, a complete and utter impossibility.

And yet here it was, undeniably real, sitting right in front of him.

"Fascinating," he murmured again as now a slow, thoughtful smile began creeping across his weathered features. "Truly fascinating. A young man with three abilities and no detectable primordial essence whatsoever. That boy is practically an anomaly walking around in this world, defying everything we thought we understood about how Awakened abilities are supposed to function."

He paused, his smile slowly fading into something more cautious, as a heavier thought settled over him. If word of this ever got out, if certain... less scrupulous individuals or organizations ever caught wind of a young man possessing such unprecedented, unclassifiable power, there was no telling what kind of chaos or danger that revelation might invite.

People had killed for far less throughout history, and an anomaly of this magnitude would undoubtedly attract attention from all sorts of unsavory corners, powerful families, rival organizations, perhaps even foreign governments eager to claim or eliminate such an unpredictable variable.

"This could prove to be rather troublesome, going forward," he muttered under his breath, his brows knitting together with genuine concern now. It would be in everyone’s best interest, he decided, to keep a close, discreet eye on the young man’s development from here on out, to ensure things didn’t spiral out of control in ways that could prove disastrous, both for Alex himself and for the Bureau as a whole.

Still, despite the potential risks swirling through his mind, the Vice Bureau Chief couldn’t entirely suppress the faint flicker of genuine curiosity, and perhaps even cautious optimism, that accompanied his concerns. A man like that, wielding such raw, boundless potential, who truly knew how his future might unfold from here? It was impossible to say with any real certainty.

"But then again," he said softly to himself, picking his teacup back up and taking another slow, contemplative sip, "a man like that... who knows how his future will actually play out. I suppose it could go either way, really. It might turn out to be something truly great." He paused, setting the cup back down with a quiet clink, his expression growing distant and unreadable once more as he stared out at the dark, endless sky beyond his window.

"...Or it could turn out to be something absolutely terrible."

He let out one final, heavy sigh, with the weight of uncertainty settling comfortably over his shoulders as he reached for the discarded report once more. Then he continued flipping back through its pages with renewed interest.